Consider this scenario: A student competent in writing essays is given the task of writing a press release. She has never written a press release before. How will she negotiate this new writing situation? One answer is that we can take a look at the "Understanding Genre" tab to refresh our understanding of what "genre" means, as well as to consider the elements that go into any communication:

• Diction / tone
• Content
• Audience
• Purpose
• Structure / Format
• Style

So, how can we make the shift from one genre (writing situation) to another?

Think about what situations you’ve been in before that seemed similar to the one you’re in now. What did you do in those other situations? Would any of those strategies work in your current situation?

● Think about what you know about the thing you’re trying to do. Locate an example of this new project and review its conventions.

● Think about what you don’t know. Identifying what you don’t know is a very productive cognitive step. One you can define what you don’t know you can work towards filling in those gaps and how you will go about doing so. 

● What are some of your go-to strategies for understanding something new? Transfer this knowledge forward into new situations.

Example: Let's say that I wrote my literacy autobiography on a book that I read when I was in 3rd grade, and how that book influenced by love of reading. I have already written the essay, so the question is: how do I shift the information in the essay to another type of communication (another genre)? I must consider the conventions of the new genre that I choose, i.e., diction/tone, formatting, etc. 

Questions to consider:

So, if I want to move my literacy autobiography essay to a visual genre, such as a book cover, what information will I move to the new genre? Why? How?